Solar Panel -- Engadget

solar panel posts

Regen's ReNu solar panel system in the flesh

by Paul Miller posted Nov 12th 2009 at 3:23AM

While great in concept, solar powered gadgets just never seem to be very practical at the end of the day. Regen's tweak on the formula might help a little, by stuffing a battery into the solar panel itself, meaning you don't have to keep your iPod plugged in for a painfully long trickle charge or juggle multiple elements to make it work (there's a USB plug on the side). ReNu also has batteries in its various docking accessories as well, all of which can be charged by the ReNu panel or by AC power. It's not going to turn the emerging market on its head, and at $199 for the ReNu unit by itself it's not cheap either, but it seems like a logical direction for sun-fueled devices -- and looks pretty cool doing it.

Gallery: Regen's ReNu solar panel system in the flesh

ReNu solar panels announced for iPhone charger, sound dock, LED desk lamp

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 26th 2009 at 1:57PM

Sure, we've been frustrated by solar-powered iPhone chargers and amused by the irony of solar-powered lamps in the past, but that doesn't mean we're not looking forward to the day when we can meet our gadgets power needs without relying on fossil fuels. That's why we're pleased to note that a company called ReNu has just announced a solar panel that can be used to charge your iPhone or iPod, power the device's sound dock, or even keep your desk light shining sans mains power. Featuring a modular design, the panel can dispatched to your window to soak up the rays for 10 or 20 hours (depending on the amount of sunlight it receives) and then returned to your dock for about nine hours of music playback, recharge your iPhone (twice!), or provide about four hours of light with the LED desk lamp. Of course, most people are going to hang this thing in the window once, forget about it, and then spend the next several years powering their devices with the included AC adapter -- but at least they're trying, right? Available for pre-order now, the ReNu solar panel ($199) and the Renu panel / iPod dock combo ($249) both ship in February 2010, while the Side Light desk lamp ($89) ships in next March, and the Sound Dock ($149) should see the light of day sometime in April. Hit the read link to place that order, but not before peeping the galley below.

Gallery: PR shots for Renu's solar powered iPhone charger, desk lamp

[Via TreeHugger]

TDK unveils fashionable, colorful solar chargers (video)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 7th 2009 at 9:51AM

Solar power is something we've seen touted in every big tech trade show for as long as we can remember, but it's taken until recently to make it a bit easier on the eyes. Enter TDK's design-, color-, and sun-enhanced chargers, found hanging out under a hard light in the back of the company's CEATEC booth casually powering a fan. It's definitely a step up from dark paneling, so how long until we see this applied to some stylish mobile phones, eh world? Video after the break.

Gallery: TDK's designer solar chargers

Continue reading TDK unveils fashionable, colorful solar chargers (video)

Samsung's E1107 with built in solar panel gets a thorough shakedown

by Jacob Schulman posted Aug 11th 2009 at 11:32AM

Sure, a cellphone made out of 80 percent recycled materials might be considered pretty environmentally friendly, but a cellphone with a built-in solar panel? Now that's something with the potential to make Al Gore cry. Enter the Samsung E1107. It's solar panel-equipped back cover comes in at 1.2-mm thin, and is said to revive a dead battery after just 15 minutes in the sun. Besides the FM radio and flashlight features, the only other noteworthy addition is an "Eco" profile, that essentially just changes screen brightness and shuts the Bluetooth off. If you're interested, the cost of entry is a reasonable $59, but you'll probably have to find an importer, as we don't expect this tree hugger to land stateside any time soon.

[Thanks, Vadik]

Toyota's giant solar flowers popping up across US to bring good will, free WiFi, and charging stations

by Ross Miller posted Jul 21st 2009 at 1:47AM

Now here's a smart marketing campaign. In an effort to raise awareness / interest in its 2010 Prius, Toyota planted five 18-foot tall "solar flowers" in Boston's Prudential Plaza and provided free Wi-Fi and electricity that was "partially powered" by the solar panels attached to the petals and stem. The so-called "Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine" just disappeared from Boston but will next germinate in New York, followed by Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. We're not exactly in the market for a car right now, but we promise to think about it while we lovingly enjoy the free laptop charge and internet access.

[Via PhysOrg]

Read - Flickr set from Boston
Read - Schedule

Solar-powered 'guiltless green' home theater system makes your Wall-E Blu-ray very happy

by Ross Miller posted Apr 18th 2009 at 11:42AM

When Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA) executive director Richard Glikes wanted a home theater system, he didn't just max it out with the best high definition equipment. He also thought to run it entirely from solar energy from four roof-mounted panels that produce an aggregate of 700 watts per hour in sunlight. It'll reportedly run things for 19 hours straight without having to dip into your traditional power grid. Hardware-wise, we're talking about a 100-inch screen, Sharp projector, six SpeakerCraft in-wall speakers, Integra AV receiver, Lutron lighting, and a universal remote. See how it was made, with the help of time-lapse photography and 1980s infomercial-genre background music, in the video after the break.

Continue reading Solar-powered 'guiltless green' home theater system makes your Wall-E Blu-ray very happy

Scosche unveils solar-powered solCHAT Bluetooth speakerphone

by Darren Murph posted Mar 17th 2009 at 4:14PM

If you happened to snag one of those Iqua Sun solar-powered Bluetooth headsets a few years back, you'll probably have no need whatsoever for this. For everyone else, listen up. The Scosche solCHAT Bluetooth speakerphone boasts an integrated solar panel and rechargeable Li-ion, and when installed within one's vehicle, it simply pairs up with BT-enabled handsets when in range in order to give drivers the ability to talk handsfree. The simply styled unit has just three visible buttons -- volume up, volume down and the all-important answer / hang-up key -- and it can be yours right now for $99.99. Oh, and just in case you live in some shadowy place like Seattle, a USB charging cable is also throw in -- just don't tell Mother Earth, alright?

Helios solar concept car is bird-like in that it evolved from lizards, has wings

by Samuel Axon posted Nov 11th 2008 at 11:27PM

We'd stick out if we were to drive the Helios concept car down the Long Island Expressway or the 405, but almost every other solar-powered car we've seen looked like an old Trabant cursed with further ugliness by a wicked witch, so considering the circumstances we're impressed. The sadly-only-on-paper vehicle netted designer Kim Gu-Han the Best Use of Technology award at the 2008 Interior Motives Design Awards for its frill-neck lizard-inspired solar fan, which unfolds when the car is immobile. If the renders are any indication, though, it's meant only for Martians -- please tell Marvin we're jealous, cause the eco-friendly cars we get now generally look like they were designed by someone with all the exuberance and colorful panache of Al Gore.

Panasonic agrees to controlling stake in Sanyo, seen issuing hearty backslaps to executives

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:59AM

Ah here we go, a major acquisition following a quarter of disturbingly bleak financial results from Japan's tech community. First from the chute is Panasonic, which according to Nikkei and other members of the media elite, has reached a preliminary agreement to takeover its troubled domestic rival, Sanyo -- details to be announced on November 7th. The chatter began in ernest over the weekend with plenty of folks blabbing about Panasonic's plan to create a "battery superpower" meant to dominate a future that envisions a taller, more slender mankind tooling about in form-fitting jumpsuits from the safety of silent, electric cars. The deal would also extend Panasonic's range of consumer electronics while giving it access to Sanyo's solar panel production. Yeah, yeah, we get it, now let's just make it official already, k fellas?

[Via Times Online]

Researchers create solar tie that charges, carries cellphone

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 18th 2008 at 4:04PM

There's certainly no shortage of folks working to incorporate solar cells into clothing and accessories, but a team of researchers from Iowa State University now look to have devised a way to make the wearable technology slightly more discreet, with them using digital textile printing to print fabric that matches the pattern of the solar cells. The solar cells themselves are then attached using a "liquid stitch" method, although that apparently presented its own set of problems, as the application of the cells made it difficult to tie a knot. As the researchers helpfully point out in thier paper, however, a clip-on tie would solve that problem. Combine that with the special pouch for carrying your cellphone, and you've got a combo that can't be beat.

[Via textually.org]

Nanosolar solar film rolls off the presses at 100 feet-per-minute

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 19th 2008 at 8:25AM

It looks like those curious to see just how Nanosolar turns out their solar panels for less than a dollar per watt need wonder no more, as the company has just posted a video that shows the thin film solar cells rolling off the presses at speedy 100 feet-per-minute. That's apparently possible thanks to what the company claims is the industry's first 1GW production tool, and its use of its own long-in-development nanoparticle ink, which eliminates the need for expensive high-vacuum chambers (though the printer still costs a hefty $1,65 million). What's more, the company says their technique would even work "in principle" at speeds up to 2,000 feet-per-minute, although they aren't making any promises about attempting an upgrade anytime soon. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

[Via Earth2Tech, thanks William]

Continue reading Nanosolar solar film rolls off the presses at 100 feet-per-minute

Supercharger solar panel promises to give Freeloader a boost

by Donald Melanson posted Apr 4th 2008 at 11:57AM

Solar Technology's Freeloader solar charger was already a pretty attractive option as it was, but the company's now looking to give the portable charger a bit of a boost, with its new Supercharger panel promising to cut the charging time in half. As you can see above, that's possible in part thanks to its larger size, but it's apparently also aided by some more powerful than usual photovoltaic cells (rated at 1.5 watts). All that should translate to a four hour charging time for the Freeloader, which can be done in any weather conditions thanks to the panel's weather-proofing (although some weather conditions will obviously be more effective than others). If that sounds like what you've been looking for, you can grab the Supercharger now for £20 (about $40), or grab it as part of a new Globe Trotter bundle (including a Freeloader, a Supercharger, and a carrying case) for £50, or just under $100.

[Via SmartPlanet]

SoCal Edison wants to cover California rooftops with solar panels

by Nilay Patel posted Mar 27th 2008 at 2:34PM

We've seen a few massive solar farms pop up out west, but it looks like Southern California Edison is taking a different approach: instead of cluttering up the desert, the company plans to build a distributed solar array on the rooftops of commercial buildings throughout SoCal. The plan is to spend $875M over five years to cover about two square miles of rooftop with the panels, which will alleviate stress on the grid by generating around 250 megawatts of juice, as much as a small power plant. That's enough to light up 162,000 homes, but it's still a little short of the record 280-megawatt Solana installation planned in Arizona -- come on, Cali, let's see a little fight.

Massachusetts company develops inkjet-printed solar panels

by Nilay Patel posted Mar 5th 2008 at 4:25AM

Printed solar cell tech keeps getting closer and closer to reality, with a Massachusetts company called Konarka Technologies today announcing that it's now able to manufacture solar cells using inkjet printing. There's not a ton of information available about the process, but Konarka's already demonstrated it and published details in a trade journal called Advanced Materials -- which sounds like scintillating reading, if you ask us. Konarka says the process makes fabbing solar panels extremely easy, since it doesn't require a clean room, and the resulting cost reductions could lead to an increased number of applications for solar power. Of course, the economics of inkjet printing have lured more than one company to the dark side -- we wonder if Konarka is eventually going to start selling solar ink cartridges for more than the printers themselves?

[Via The Raw Feed]

SunTable brings solar power to your patio

by Donald Melanson posted Dec 19th 2007 at 3:26PM

There's certainly no shortage of solar panels of various shapes and sizes that'll let you charge and use your various gadgets outdoors, but those looking for a slightly more permanent solution now have a new option to consider courtesy of the folks at Sudia Design Labs, which recently introduced its appropriately-named SunTable. In addition to comfortably sitting six people, it's able to provide up to 150 watts of power and recharge fully in just three hours of direct sunlight. To make use of all that juice, the table also comes with an inverter to let you plug in a laptop or other device and, naturally, it includes some LEDs to inform you of its status. As you might have guessed, however, that convenience comes at quite a cost ($3,600), and you'll have to act fast, as there's only fifty of the tables up for grabs, with 'em set to start shipping on March 15th.

[Via Slash Gear]